Athletes learn life lessons from playing college sports

Editor,

In response to Geoffrey Miller's letter in Wednesday's Daily Lobo, let me reiterate that Steve Alford's salary at UNM is about $210,000. His entire compensation package comes from sources outside of the University. Even Paul Krebs, UNM's athletics director, has said that the amounts paid to college coaches are difficult to swallow.

However, I challenge anyone to name a head basketball or football coach in Division I athletics who is not earning dollar amounts comparable to what Alford is here at UNM.

Miller stated that "UNM believes that teaching basketball players to toss a 9-inch, fake leather ball through an 18-inch hoop is 62 times more important than teaching psychology majors to gain empirically validated, life-changing insights into human nature and mental health." This sentiment is an insult to the University's mission and to our student athletes.

Student athletes, with the help of their head and assistant coaches, are learning much more than the skills critical to their sport. They must balance their athletic schedules along with their coursework. This may not be much different than a psychology student trying to balance his or her difficult coursework, research and other demands placed on college students. However, student athletes must endure the scrutiny of their community and the local media and learn how to handle the pressures to perform on and off the court.

In short, UNM student athletes must represent the University and represent it well. Their experiences may provide them with a practical application of human nature and mental health, rather than studying it from an empirical basis. The hiring of an experienced and well-versed coach provides student athletes the opportunity to learn how to better deal with these challenges, not just win basketball games.

Andrea Kendall

UNM graduate student